Be like Lolo Jones

At the 2008 Olympics, Jones was a favorite in the 100-meter hurdles. She was on pace to win gold—until she tripped over the penultimate hurdle. Devastated but not defeated, she fought her way back to break the American record in the indoor 60-meter hurdles in 2010. This could be the year of Lolo's 100-meter revenge. "Bad things can be good," she says, "if you use them as motivation."

Be like Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor

The indomitable Beach Volleyball duo, 6-foot-3 Kerri Walsh and 5-foot-9 Misty May-Treanor, have clinched gold in the past two consecutive Olympics. After Beijing, Walsh took time off to have two kids; now she says, "We've got our mojo back, so watch out, world!"

Be like Gwen Jorgensen

Before USA Triathlon called to recruit her, Jorgensen had a plan: desk job. As an accountant. Now she'll compete to win a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run. In her third ever race in the World Championship Series, she took second, the best finish by an American woman. The Olympic race is on the same course, and she plans to make history again. As she says, "I'm 100 percent ready."

Be like Missy Franklin

Though she hasn't even graduated from high school, Missy "The Missile" hopes to make a big splash at this year's Games, where she will be competing in a total of seven events. This last year alone, the 6-foot-1 soon-to-be-senior broke the world record in the 200-meter backstroke and nabbed three golds, a silver and a bronze in the 2011 FINA World Championships. Watch for her in the Olympics—if you can see her streak by. She got her nickname for a reason!

Be like Hope Solo

Dynamo Solo helped the U.S. women's soccer team take gold in 2008, and now the all-star—who grabbed the Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup—is ready to defend the goal and the team title.

Be like Mariel Zagunis

Mariel Zagunis won gold in 2004 in the Women's Individual Sabre competition—the first American fencer to take the top spot in 100 years—then did it all over again in 2008. She has been training five hours a day with the "first and foremost goal to get a three-peat," she says. If past is prologue, then we're gonna take a stab and say she's got this.

Be like Natalie Coughlin

The stakes are sky-high for Coughlin—she's won a medal in every Olympic event she's entered. Her current tally from the past two Games: three gold, four silver and four bronze. If she keeps up this streak in 2012, she could tie with Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres as the most decorated U.S. female swimmers in Olympic history. Coughlin's take: "My first Olympics was about proving myself. My second, about defending my titles. Now I just feel strong." Our take: Go get it, girl!

Be like Jordyn Wieber

Wieber may be America's best hope for the big kahuna of the Olympics: gymnastics gold. In London, the reigning all-around world champion hopes to attempt one of the most challenging moves in the sport, the Amanar vault: a roundoff on the springboard, back handspring onto the horse and a 2 1/2 twisting layout backflip before landing. (Good God!) If she sticks it, she might just get something shiny in return.

Be like Shalane Flanagan

The 26.2 miles Flanagan will run in London will be her third marathon. As in, ever. After taking bronze in the 10,000 meters in Beijing, Flanagan decided it was time to push herself even harder. This past January, she raced the Olympics marathon qualifier and finished first, setting the event record. "My lack of experience is kind of nerve-racking, but the race is so exciting, too," she says. "Each time I run one, it feels like Christmas." This year, Christmas comes on August 5, when the gun goes off.

Be like Marlen Esparza

A six-time National Champion, Esparza rules the ring. And she'll have the chance to wow the world as women's boxing makes its Games debut. "Going to the Olympics is not just a dream," she says. "It's what I've revolved my entire life around." The 112-pound flyweight plans to hang up her gloves after London, and no doubt, she'll go out fighting.

Be like Christina Loukas

After placing ninth in the 3-meter springboard in Beijing, Loukas took a break from the sport. "I wasn't sure why I was diving," she says. "It wasn't fun anymore." But after about a year, she recalls, "I realized I had so much more to accomplish. I got a burning desire to go back." They'll go wild in London if she can ace one of her favorite dives, the back 2 1/2 pike. "I'd love to hear the crowd cheer again as I come out of the water." That sounds like fun.

Be like Caryn Davies and Susan Francia

In 2008, Davies and Francia helped lead their team in the Women's Eight—a grueling 1 1/4-mile-long race—to victory. Since then, they've put in six hours of training a day, six days a week, hoping to cruise to another. If dedication wins medals, we say they're golden.

Be like Allyson Felix

Nicknamed Chicken Legs in high school, Felix, who sprinted to two silvers and a gold in the past two Olympics, now has two of the fastest legs in the world. In London, she hopes to put them to work to win two more medals. "This time around, I'm going to be selfish. I'm putting myself first!" she says. Which is exactly where we expect to find her at the end of each race.